- September 13, 2024
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An abandoned compound on 62 acres, next to Rye Preserve, will host more than wild animals by next summer.
Manatee County owns the property at 751 Rye Wilderness Trail, but the county handed over the keys to the Foundation for Dreams in early August.
The property was occupied by the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches from 1988 through February 2022. The structures on the property include a multipurpose building, maintenance building, learning center, three cottages, two houses, a pool and a basketball court.
The Foundation for Dreams serves children, ages 7 through 17, with special needs. Currently, the foundation offers sleep-away weekend and summer camps at Camp Flying Eagle off Upper Manatee River Road. Southwest Florida Boy Scouts owns and operates Flying Eagle.
“We’re able to run a lot more independently now,” said Elena Cassella, the executive director of Foundation for Dreams. “We’re able to collaborate more with other agencies throughout the county and meet more of the needs of the county as they continue to evolve.”
Dream Oaks Camp, which serves children with special needs, will continue to be the foundation’s primary program.
However, another need that was identified within Manatee County is for young adults with developmental disabilities. Cassella said the foundation is exploring programming for ages 18 to 30 because there are so few options in the community.
Specialized groups of children, such as those living in foster care, are another demographic the new campus could serve.
"I've seen the parents. I've seen the kids who are affected by it. It's just a great organization," Commissioner George Kruse said. "Due to the county's growth, some of these big nonprofits are experiencing capacity constraints. The Foundation for Dreams certainly deserves the opportunity to provide the quality of camp and experience to as many kids as humanly possible here in Manatee County."
There’s work to be done before new programs can be introduced. Cassella said it will take a five-year plan and a capital campaign to fully rehab the property.
The structures were built between 1991 and 2001. On top of that, they sat vacant for more than two years. But one of the bigger issues that needs to be addressed is the property is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Since the property is a county asset being leased to the foundation, Manatee County will reimburse the foundation up to $1 million for remodeling the buildings up to ADA standards, which will include widening the doorways to allow for wheelchairs.
There are issues outside, as well. The parking lot is filled with cracks. The road to the cottages is dirt, and the sidewalks don’t connect the buildings.
“Everything is going to have to become accessible,” Cassella said. “The cottages will have accessible sidewalks or roads that connect them all because a child is in a wheelchair. A lot of times, those wheelchairs cost as much as cars. We have to make sure that equipment is protected, too.”
Casella described the pool as being in “rough shape.” It’s also not ADA compliant or large enough for the foundation’s needs.
Cassella estimates the pool alone will cost $100,000. To get the property up and running will likely cost around $2.5 million. The foundation will be launching a capital campaign to cover the improvements on Oct. 11 at its annual Endless Summer Nights fundraising event.
Beyond renovations, there are additional expenses that need to be covered, such as filling the commercial-sized kitchen with equipment and purchasing a shuttle to transport campers to and from a canoe launch, which is not on site as it was at Camp Flying Eagle.
“We’re very grassroots. We get county funding, but we don’t receive any state funding,” Cassella said. “We’re really hoping that those folks that have trades are able to come in and help us with some of those services if they own a flooring company, a pool company or a window company. Those are the types of trades that we’re looking to partner with.”
Cassella said the foundation isn’t looking for anything free. They’re looking for true partners, and the foundation has naming opportunities and other ways to let the community know that those companies are not only in business, but they also give back.
Home movers could be useful, too, but they’d be lifting more than boxes.
Foundation for Dreams built seven 2,000-square-foot cottages at Camp Flying Eagle. The structures are on cinder blocks, so staff is looking into moving those, too.
There’s also a 4,000-square-foot playground the foundation invested $250,000 into 10 years ago. If moved, it needs a new cement slab and a new surface.
According to the contract, the foundation has the right to move anything that's not attached. If the cabins are moved, the number of campers per session could more than double what the foundation can serve now.
At Camp Flying Eagle, the foundation can accommodate up to 45 campers per session with no more than a 3:1 ratio of campers to counselors. The accommodations at the new site, without the cabins being moved, can serve up to 60 campers.
However, serving more campers would require also increasing the number of staff members. Cassella stressed this is not a one-year project. This is a project that will happen in phases over the next five years, but the immediate goal is to host campers in the new location by next summer.
First on the list of projects is the director’s house and the multipurpose building, which houses the administration offices. The goal is to have both buildings occupied over the next two months so someone will always be on site as the renovations are underway.
Camp Director Devonte Ousley will live on campus in the director's house. Ousley started as a counselor nine years ago. Now, as director, he schedules and oversees all the camps.
The move will make his job much easier. Because the foundation currently uses the Boy Scouts' space, Ousley has to schedule camps up to a year in advance. The new location will allow for more flexible scheduling and additional camp sessions.
“In the past, we were not able to serve anyone other than children with special needs,” Cassella said. “The county’s goal for this property is to serve the constituents and children in Manatee County. And they know our goal is to be able to expand what we’re doing and work with other agencies.”
The license agreement expires on Dec. 31, 2033. If the foundation is not in default and makes the request 120 days prior to the expiration date, it’s entitled to a renewal term of another 10 years.
